After minimal racing, university crews will come together this weekend to compete over the Tyne stretch for the first BUCS event of the year. With a big entry pool, there’s plenty of room for upsets and surprises; but how do these crews stack up? We look at the top contenders for the intermediate men’s quads and see who we think will take the top spot.
Reading University Boat Club
As favourites to win, Reading have entered an impressive four crews, a notable increase on recent years. Having secured the past two titles in this category, they look to complete the hat-trick and take the win. Without recent results, it’s difficult to make a sure statement on where they stand, but there is no denying they know how to row quads and win this event. Looking back to Henley, they managed to race a quad in the Prince of Wales, losing by a length on the Tuesday to the overall second-placed crew, an impressive show of strength and confirming they know how to develop quick boats.
De Montfort University Boat Club
De Montford have strong history with this event, and with two crews entered, will be looking to further their narrative this weekend.. Having placed fifth in last year’s event and fourth in 2022, they have managed to develop a crew that is able to compete with the best. Having not yet cracked the top three, their sights may be set on doing so. Without Durham and Hartpury – the only crews other than Reading to beat them in recent years – they may look to break into the top three in style with a potential second place. Backing up their top boat here is their ‘B’ quad, which shows squad depth they have seemingly been missing in recent years. Perhaps the bigger pool of athletes to pick from and competition for seats is the edge they need to take a higher spot…
Queen’s College Belfast Boat Club
Matching their entries from last year, Queen’s have two crews entered, beating their 2022 entry of just one. While minimal, the extra depth clearly pays off as they went from placing 13th in 2022 to placing sixth in 2023. Importantly, they placed just behind De Montfort in last year’s event, a contender for the second place spot this year. With such little racing, and a year of bad weather, it really could be anyone’s game. Who will take which spot? All we know is that there will be a serious battle for second between De Montfort and Queen’s.
University of Surrey Boat Club
Having just one crew entered, compared to two in 2023 and three in 2022, Surrey are a club that seem to be struggling. Having placed sixth in 2022, their tenth place in 2023 was surely a disappointment, but could they take their recent defeats as fuel for a comeback? Besides Reading, Surrey were the only crew entered who successfully had a men’s crew competing at Henley. While losing their first round to Cornell, Surrey impressively managed to get a qualify a Temple crew – a feat not to be overlooked. While perhaps not competing for the top spot like some crews, could this be the start of a redemption arc for the Molesey-based squad?
Predictions
With such strength and depth, it won’t be a surprise if Reading take the top spot, but having also taking third place last year, I think that they will upset De Montfort and Queen’s with their ‘B’ crew taking second place too. While strong, I predict that De Montfort will just be beaten to third place by Queen’s. A shout out should go to Nottingham, who are good contenders for fifth. I don’t think Surrey will quite have what it takes to get back to sixth, but a top-ten finish is definitely on the cards. As a good preview into what to expect for BUCS Regatta, BUCS Head will be one to watch.
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